President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin ended a two-day summit on Wednesday with little to show, really, but declarations of mutual support and cooperation on some security and arms control issues. Clinton promised to back new international financial aid to Russia to help pull it out of a deep economic crisis, but only if Moscow pushed ahead with market reforms. Yeltsin responded by saying Russia needed moral, not financial, support, but pledged to continue the so-called reforms and win a battle with his defiant parliament over approval of a new prime minister and government. Meanwhile, Russia’s Communist-led lower house of parliament, confident it can ward off dissolution, raised the stakes again on Wednesday in its standoff with President Boris Yeltsin over his nominee for prime minister. Deputies brought forward a second vote on Yeltsin’s choice, Viktor Chernomyrdin, to Friday, leaving little time for compromise and making it even more likely they will reject him again, after a first resounding vote against on Monday. After the first vote, Yeltsin immediately renominated Chernomyrdin, dismissing deputies’ calls for another prime-ministerial candidate and for his own resignation. If the chamber rejects Chernomyrdin three times, Yeltsin must dissolve the chamber and call a parliamentary election more than a year ahead of schedule. It’s a risky prospect and an expensive one. Given that Russia is already in a deep economic crisis, some analysts say he might not call an election at all, attempting instead to rule by decree.

Stocks rallied yesterday, gaining more than half of the value they lost Monday. Over 1.2 billion shares were traded, setting a new record. The Dow Jones, an index of America’s most powerful companies, rose 288 points, after dropping 512 the day before. The Dow is still 1% below where it started for the year. World markets, though, were calmer this morning, with some Asian markets finishing up. Analysts say heavy sell-offs like Monday are usually followed by good buying opportunities. They say the volatility and uncertainty will probably be in place for a while. Watchers say the market will probably swing up and down for a couple more weeks.

Attorney General Janet Reno has opened a probe into whether a former top presidential aide lied under oath. Reno today notified a special panel of federal judges that she’s starting a 90-day investigation of Harold Ickes. At issue is whether he committed perjury before a Senate committee investigating Democratic campaign fundraising in '96. Reno's inquiry could lead to naming an independent counsel to investigate the issue. Tomorrow, the attorney general briefs leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on the investigation. Majority Republicans have been pressing hard for her to turn the campaign finance matter over to an outside court.

The layoffs at Northwest Airlines are about to get serious. An airline spokeswoman says, by the end of the day, Northwest will let go 162 dispatchers and 15 meteorologists. The spokeswoman, speaking to a Minneapolis radio station, said the layoffs came as the pilot strike is in its fourth day, grounding the airline. Northwest will revisit the issue of layoffs of flight attendants tomorrow. A Teamsters spokesman said earlier that Northwest has put off plans to furlough flight attendants. Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater called a meeting in Washington this afternoon between Northwest and the pilots’ union to get the negotiations back on track.

Hundreds of ethnic Chinese fled a northern Indonesian town Tuesday after stone-throwing mobs attacked their shops and homes in a second day of rioting there. Residents said riot police shot and killed two people. Looters, some of them shouting separatist slogans, rampaged through the business district, grabbing sacks of rice and bottles of soybean, ketchup, boxes of noodles, fans and electrical wiring. Many shops were empty, abandoned by their owners. Ninety fugitives, meanwhile, were on the run after crowds stormed a prison Monday in the biggest riot since deadly unrest in May helped oust former President Suharto.

According to a survey, almost two-thirds of traditional U.S. medical schools now teach alternative therapies, including chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal remedies and mind-body medicine. Researchers say with millions of Americans visiting alternative practitioners yearly, educators whose job it is to prepare doctors of the future have no choice but to respond to this relentless challenge to evolve. The survey was conducted last fall.